f 



form ; it acquired the name of pilewort 

 from its virtues, and it being no great 

 matter where 1 set it down, so I set it 

 down at all. I humoured Dr. Tradition 

 so much as to set him down here." 

 But the garrulous old gentleman seems 

 to have got a trifle mixed himself, for 

 he describes the seeds of pilewort as 

 " many small kernels, like a grain of 



i corn, sometimes twice as long as others, 

 of a whitish colour with some fibres at 

 the end of them/' This seems more 

 likely to refer to the small tubers, 

 which very much resemble grains of 

 wheat, and when they are washed bare 

 by heavy rains, as often happens in 

 loamy woods, the country yokels say 

 " it has been raining wheat." As if 

 still further to ensure the perpetuity of 

 the piJewort little bulbils are often 

 produced in the axils of the lower leaves, 

 so that it has three natural ways of 



i propagation, by tubers, bulbils, and 

 ordinary seeds. An old name for it is 

 " fogwort," possibly because it grows 



I freely in the " fogs" or old pastures. 

 Children generally call it " buttercups," 

 an obvious enough name. The name 

 of celandine is derived from " Chelidon" 

 a swallow, and is applied to the pile- 



I wort because it flowers when the 

 swallow arrives in our country. In 



i Gaelic it is called grain-aigem that 



I which produces loathing, and also 

 Searraiche, a little bottle, from the 



| form of the roots, although this has 

 also been interpreted to mean the plant 



103 



that soon withers, dries up, or consumes 

 away. In the language of flowers it 

 is the emblem of "joys to come." 

 None of the poets except Wordsworth 

 seem to have noticed this humble 

 wilding, but his two charming odes 

 describing with realistic minuteness its 

 various features, make ample amends 

 for others neglect. Appearing so early 

 in spring its flowers are very attractive 

 to various vernal insects. The beauti- 

 ful brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx 

 Rhamni) is said to be frequently 

 observed hovering over its bright 

 yellow blossoms. 



" Trusting the first warm day of spring, 

 When transient sunshine warms the sky, 



Light on his yellow spotted wing, 

 Comes forth the early butterfly. 



With wavering flight he settles now, 

 Where pilewort spreads its blossoms fair, 



Or on the grass where daisies blow 

 Pausing he rests his pinions there." 



THE LEPIDOPTERA OP 

 DERBY AND 

 NEIGHBOURHOOD. 



By G. Pullen. 

 {Continued from page 94.) 



Ampliydasis prodromai'ia. Rare 



betularia. Common, the black 

 variety not nn- 

 frequent. 



HemeropJiila abrujptaria. 

 Cleora lichenaria Scarce. 

 Boarmia repandata. Common. 

 „ rTiomboidaria, Common. 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



